North Slope mayor reacts to Walrus listing

North Slope Borough Mayor Edward Itta today said he wasn’t surprised by the call yesterday from the Center for Biological Diversity to list Pacific Walrus under the Endangered Species Act. Itta said he figured it was a matter of time before conservationists would use the same climate change argument that led to the call to list the polar bear. He says it adds to the unknowns– for coastal people who rely so heavily on the walrus as a source of food.